The past in the post

Agnes Toward, who lived at the Tenement House in Glasgow from 1911 until 1965, held onto many letters throughout her life – from her childhood until she was in her 80s. She corresponded frequently with her family and friends both at home and abroad.

As one of the few means of communication available to Agnes, ink and paper would have been a constant in her daily life. Agnes was very organised and often even kept copies of the letters she sent. This gives us a fascinating insight into Agnes’s daily life, her points of view and her experiences – and about what her neighbours were like!

Travel back in time with us as we examine some of the letters that she kept, which are now part of our archive. In this post we take a look at some early letters to discover more about Agnes’s childhood.

This letter was written in 1883 by Agnes’s father, William Toward, during his courtship with her mother, Agnes Reid.

Victorians had strict rules about courtship, and even William Toward was caught out! In this letter he apologises to Agnes Reid for referring to her by her first name – something that was only acceptable after a couple were engaged.

William was a travelling merchant, which meant he was often away from home and letters were an important part of their relationship. Through their correspondence, preserved by their daughter Agnes, we can get an idea of the couple’s loving relationship.

William Toward and Agnes Reid were married the following year, in 1884, just four years before William passed away suddenly in 1888. Mrs Toward never remarried.

The Lamb’s Hotel was later known as Meadow House and still stands in Dundee as a listed building.

This letter was written to Agnes by her mother in the summer of 1893, when Agnes was six years old. She was spending a holiday in Millport with her maternal grandmother. Agnes would have gone ‘doon th’ watter’ on a paddle steamer along the River Clyde. At the time her mother was working as a dressmaker at her drapery shop at 356 St Vincent Street, not far from the Tenement House.

Agnes kept many letters from her childhood, especially to her mother. They had a very close relationship. Agnes was Mrs Toward’s only surviving child, after two other daughters passed away in infancy.

This letter gives us an insight about Agnes’s childhood at home with her cat Tib and shows that her passion about putting pen to paper started from an early age.

Agnes wrote this letter when she was eight years old, in the same year that public transport began operating in Glasgow. She mentions her friend Bessie with whom we know she performed dramatic plays. Agnes liked to draw pictures at the bottom of her letters. In this letter she has drawn her aunt Ellen. Ellen Toward (1835–1908) was one of Agnes’s paternal aunts. She was a dressmaker too and lived in Edinburgh.

As a widow, Agnes’s mother supported herself and her daughter through her work as a dressmaker. There were no widow pensions from the state until 1925 and so there was only one income to support the mother and daughter. Close relatives might have helped looked after Agnes while her mum was working.

This is a letter sent to a young Agnes by her friend Muriel. Muriel Fox attended Garnethill Public School with Agnes and became a close childhood friend. Garnethill School was on the same street as the Tenement House.

At a time when holidays were a luxury, Muriel was lucky enough to travel down south on holiday to the English coast. This was certainly something to brag about with your friends!